Widespread Panic | Auditorium Theater, Chicago – 04/13/08

The other weekend was definitely a “Georgia” themed few days; I watched almost the entirety of the Masters and caught the final night of Widespread Panic‘s three night run at the Auditorium Theater in Chicago. The only things missing were my crokies, short khaki shorts and a college hat. All kidding aside, I was pleasantly surprised by a band that I haven’t seen in almost three years or listened to much of late. The boys from Athens mixed in some newer stuff, a few good covers and some great old tunes for good measure. Check out the pictures from the night…

Talking with a few people during set break it seemed like the entire weekend was really well received and everyone was happy with the venue choice. Normally Panic sets up shop at the Chicago Theater but it seemed like the Auditorium Theater was a good change. The sound was awesome and it was overall a very beautiful venue.

The first set highlight was the three song stretch of “Pleas” > “1×1″, “North”. These tunes immediately got me in the mood for a big night of southern rock and brought me back up to speed with their music. The boys finished up for the set break with a really good cover of Van Morrison’s “And It Stoned Me” straight into a ripping “Make Sense to Me”.

Though I am not nearly as versed in Panic’s music as I once was, it was very easy to tell when the band and the crowd were feeling the groove. The magic happened twice in the second set. First was an upbeat “Little Lilly” into the old favorite “Space Wrangler.” Late into the second set the band delved into a dark, dark jam between “I Walk in Gilded Splinters” and “Barstools and Dreamers.” By far the best moments of the night happened between these two songs; even took out my earplugs during “Barstools” to get the full effect of School’s bass.

Traveling home on the El after the show I felt really, really good. Like I had just ran into an old friend and we picked up right where we had left off. I made a promise to catch at least one Widespread Panic show a year. If they play shows like they did at the Auditorium Theater, I have a feeling I’ll be catching more than that.